Live data from Hacker News

Getting Steve Jobs Wrong

daringfireball.net

101–105 of 105 posts

Re: Getting Steve Jobs Wrong

#101

This article was a bit annoying to read, as it was full of a lot of the deification of Jobs that's been around since his death. "What it was that Jobs actually did is much of the mystery of his life and his work, and Isaacson, frustratingly, had seemingly little interest in that, or any recognition that there even was any sort of mystery as to just what Jobs’s gifts really were." Why this insistence on mystery? Why t…

> Why this insistence on mystery? Why this insistence that Jobs had some magical special sauce that all of us are lacking?

Because your and my (and humanity's) articulation capabilities might be less but perception capabilities could be more.

Also because, each of us may actually have some "reality distorting" capabilities, which we may or may not use.

Re: Getting Steve Jobs Wrong

#102
post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I 100% agree. I'm basically finished the book (2 more chapters to go, but I skipped ahead to the last 2 chapters out of boredom). It reads like 2 different books: before coming back to Apple the second time, and after. The first half really makes him look like an utter wretch, and almost suggests that his success was a mistake. It basically talks about what an asshole Jobs was, and how he would yell at everyone, etc,…

I think you're missing the point. He was an intense, emotional visionary. He believed in what he felt, not what others told him. That's why he smelled, why he was rude, why he cried all the time, and why he made people hate him. It's also why he was successful, and why he was able to unite teams. Most people spend their lives engaged in a kind of Keynesian beauty contest, always trying to do or be what they think the…

I think you're missing the point. I was commenting on the impression I got from the book.

Re: Getting Steve Jobs Wrong

#103
post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I completely disagree. Watch a 1 year old child learn to use an iPad in a day! There is something very new and very revolutionary about that.

What this 1 year old child can accomplish using the iPad? I'm really curious. Would it be different with any other large touch screen interface?

"Would it be different with any other large touch screen interface?"

Yes, I have an android phone and my wife has an iPhone. My 1 year old can navigate between apps, find the app she is looking for, and use them without assistance on any IOS device. She can't do the same on an android device.

Re: Getting Steve Jobs Wrong

#104
post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I completely disagree. Watch a 1 year old child learn to use an iPad in a day! There is something very new and very revolutionary about that.

It may seem more amazing to you, but I would argue that is only because you are not likely in a position to be amazed by the magnitude of the importance people like Edison and Turing had on this world. This is forgivable, but please note that he was talking about contribution to society, not "wow factor" .

This is one of the most gratuitous and condescending replies I've seen on HN. You don't know anything about me, so why would you insult my intelligence?

Computers are very hard to use for people outside of our bubble. Changing that is a major contribution to society and far more than a "wow factor". Seeing disabled people use an iPad is an amazing site.

I'm not interested in ranking ligt bulbs vs iPads, it servers no real purpose. And I'm not particularly interested in having a discussion with an asshole, but I wanted to point out how absurd it is to call something that opens doors for so many people as merely a "wow factor". You are not likely in a position to understand much beyond your own narcissism.

Re: Getting Steve Jobs Wrong

#105
post #29
post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I completely disagree. Watch a 1 year old child learn to use an iPad in a day! There is something very new and very revolutionary about that.

The parent comment was about the man himself. In the case of the iPad he may have the guided the process but the real work wasn't by done by him. It was done by the very skilled people he hired.

It is far harder to choose the right people and guide the process than people seem to believe. There are so many talented people, yet we get very few good products.
Post reply on HN